Staying Healthy With Oats
Oats is a cereal and is consumed as such. Oat forms the core of many breakfast cereal preparations available in the market. Oat flour is often used to enhance the nutritional values of breads and added to various food items due to its preservative and antioxidant properties. Historically, oats was also used to make whiskey and beer. The future uses of oats will see oat lipids being used as emulsifier in the preparation of breads, margarine and chocolate and oat gum replacing gelatin. So we may now explore the nutritional benefits of oats.
Oatmeal and oat bran have been found to be one of the best sources of dietary fiber including soluble fiber which contains beta glucan. This has been proved to be one of the most effective substances that reduce blood cholesterol naturally. It also contains an antioxidant called tocotrienol. This acts together with tocopherols to produce vitamin E in the body. So a diet of oats which is rich in fiber and low in fat can be the ideal one for reducing all the agents that can cause difficulty to the heart.
Oats slow down the digestive process. This is why it feels heavy after having oats and it is also one of the reason behind its popularity as a breakfast cereal. This property is also beneficial to the diabetics because this decreases the rate of absorption of glucose in the blood. So it naturally controls the abrupt changes in blood sugar levels. Oats also have properties that can reduce blood pressure. This property of delayed digestion also helps in reducing fat and weight because a person feels hungry less often.
Oats have anti cancer properties. There are more than a hundred phytochemicals and some of them play an active part in reducing the risk of cancer. A compound called phytoestrogen, that has been found in oats is said to reduce the risk of a number of hormone related diseases and disorders like breast cancer, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer.
Finally, oats have a very balanced composition which makes it acceptable to anyone from a kid to the aged. Also the fibrous nature of the cereal makes it a perfect substance to control the bowel movements. Moreover the beta glucan has been found to enhance immunity. From the nutritional point of view, oats contains protein, amino acids, thiamin, biotin, folic acid, vitamin E and various essential minerals.
